Statement of Bishop Phonsie Cullinan on the decision of the Cistercian Community regarding Mount Melleray Abbey:
I have received with deep sadness the announcement that the Cistercian Order in Our Lady of Silence Abbey has discerned that it will not be returning to Mount Melleray, but will instead establish its long-term home at Mellifont Abbey.
Mount Melleray has been a place of prayer, sacrifice, scholarship, and quiet fidelity since the Cistercians first came to our Diocese in 1833. For generations, the monks have sustained the faith of the people of West Waterford and far beyond. Their chant, their hospitality, their spiritual counsel, and their hidden life of intercession have been a blessing not only to this Diocese but to the whole Church in Ireland.
While many will understandably feel sorrow at this news, I wish to express my full respect for the careful and prayerful discernment undertaken by Dom Rufus and the community. Monastic life has always been rooted in obedience, humility, and trust in Divine Providence. We honour their decision and the courage it takes to take such a step.
On behalf of the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore, I offer heartfelt gratitude to the Cistercian monks for nearly two centuries of faithful witness. The spiritual legacy of Mount Melleray — its steadfast prayer, its devotion to Our Lord, its commitment to silence and contemplation — is woven into the fabric of this Diocese.
The monastery buildings may one day serve a new purpose, but the deeper reality of Mount Melleray is not bricks and mortar. It is prayer. It is sacrifice. It is faith handed on quietly from one generation to the next.
I pray that the legacy of Mount Melleray will continue in a way that sustains and strengthens the faith of our people. I also pray that some new chapter, guided by the Holy Spirit, may yet emerge there — one that honours the Cistercian and keeps alive the flame of contemplative prayer and learning on that sacred mountain.
We assure Dom Rufus and the entire community of our prayers as they prepare for this transition. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in them, bring it to fulfilment. And may Our Lady of Silence watch over them, over Mount Melleray, and over all who have been touched by its grace.
+Phonsie Cullinan
Diocese of Waterford and Lismore